The First Gardener

by Denise Hildreth Jones

  “Sophie! Sophie!” Maddie’s voice came from down the hall. She burst through the bedroom door. “Daddy, where’s Sophie?”

  Gray looked in one of the mirrors that flanked the antique pine armoire and straightened his tie. “You mean, where is the peeing machine your mother let you get?”

  Maddie stopped in the middle of the room and put her hands on her hips, the pleats of her skirt bending beneath her fingers. “Daddy, she’s a baby. Babies pee.”

  Mack came out of the bathroom with her hands behind her neck, trying to hook her three-strand beaded necklace. “Maddie, we’ve got to do a better job of making sure Sophie goes outside and does all her business. But, Gray, she is a puppy with a little bladder. And the dog trainer is going to start working with her today.”

  “Yeah, she’s getting trained.” Maddie’s muffled tones came from under the round table that stood near the bay window, covered with photographs of family and friends. Gray bent down to see her curled up with Sophie, laughing as the puppy attacked her face with its tongue.

  Gray had to admit he loved seeing his baby girl so happy. He crawled under the table with her. “Puppies are a lot of responsibility, Maddie.”

  She leaned against him, keeping a death grip on the wiggling puppy. “I know. But I’m so big, I’ll take good care of her. Feed her. Pee her. Poop her. All of it, Daddy.”

  “Oh, you will, huh?” Gray pulled both girl and puppy into his lap. Sophie squirmed her way out of Maddie’s arms, trying to get to Gray’s face. He laughed when her tongue caught the edge of his chin.

  “She likes you, Daddy!” Maddie squealed. “Even though you screamed at her.”

  “I didn’t scream,” he protested, handing the puppy back. “I announced.”

  Mack finished buttoning her gray cardigan and pulled her white tank down at the waist. “Come on, baby girl, we’re going to be late for school. Gray, have you seen my keys?”

  Gray shook his head. The woman needed GPS to survive. “They’re wherever your sunglasses are, I’m sure.”

  “Have you seen my sunglasses?”

  “No, I was being a smart aleck.”

  “Well, I don’t have time for you to be a smart aleck because I have to get Maddie to school. So, seriously, have you seen my keys?”

  He climbed out from under the table. “I’ll take her this morning. I’m headed to the office.”

  “Can Sophie come?” Maddie jumped up, Sophie all but flying out of her arms.

  Gray rescued the puppy again and handed her to Mack. “No, Maddie lady, I’m not coming home after I let you off. Mommy gets to take care of Sophie today.”

  Mack pulled the wriggling ball of fluff up to her chest. “Mommy would be delighted. But I can take Maddie too.”

  He could tell that Mack was enjoying this new school drop-off routine. He wouldn’t take it from her.

  “You got to watch Lola too, Mommy.”

  “I will. I’m Superwoman. I can take care of everyone,” she said with a smirk.

  Gray leaned in and gave her a soft peck on her pink-glossed lips. “The trainer is coming today, right?”

  “I’ve already told you that three times. Yes, he’s coming today.”

  “Just making sure.” He noticed that Sophie calmed in Mack’s arms as they headed downstairs. “Hope you two have a great day.”

  “It’s going to be perfect, Daddy!” Maddie’s feet bounced down the stairs and into the hall. She skirted her backpack at the garage door and headed straight to the car.

  Gray picked up the backpack and held it out to Mack. “You do know who will be taking care of this dog, don’t you?”

  She shifted the now-sleeping puppy so she could take the backpack. Then she cocked her nose up at Gray and walked out the door.

  “Just making sure,” he called out as the door closed behind her.

  Chapter 12

  Mackenzie climbed the grand staircase of Conservation Hall, the “sinker wood” treads reclaimed from the bottom of the Tennessee River firm beneath her feet. Her phone vibrated, and Anna’s picture popped up. “Hey.”

  “You ready for tonight?”

  “Yeah, it’s going to be a perfect evening. Eloise and I just made a final pass, and every detail is exquisite. You should see the hall.”

  “Make you glad the former governor’s wife fought the Republicans to get it built?”

  Mackenzie laughed. The new banquet facility had been a controversial addition to the former first lady’s preservation-remodeling project for the mansion. It had been built entirely underground in the mansion’s front yard. A huge courtyard outside the hall created a large hole in the center of the yard but afforded beautiful natural light for the otherwise-cavelike hall.

  Before it was built, the mansion’s maximum capacity for state dinners had been only twenty-two people. Larger events had been relegated to tents on the grounds with rented staging and portable restrooms. But the stunning new facility could hold up to 160 people, with each backside having a seat, and restrooms right around the corner. A decided improvement, as far as Mackenzie was concerned. Tennessee might be full of good old country folk, but no one really wanted to use a Porta-John at the governor’s mansion.

  The construction of Conservation Hall, along with many other aspects of the renovation project, had been bitterly protested by many citizens and lawmakers who felt the money was needed more in other places. Since the governor at the time was a Democrat, Republicans had been especially vocal on the issue. But whether they were right or wrong, the facility was beautiful. And tonight it would be enjoyed—along with every piece of artwork and priceless memorabilia it held—by the wonderful citizens of Tennessee.

  “How did you do with your seating arrangements?” Anna asked.

  “I believe I have ensured that no politicians will come to blows tonight.”

  Anna laughed. “You’ve done a marvelous job with this, Mackenzie. With everything you are responsible for these days, I can’t believe you took this on.”

  Mackenzie reached the top of the steps and headed toward the family quarters. Passing a marble-topped altar table that rested under a portrait of Andrew Jackson, she picked up Maddie’s gum wrapper and stuck it in her pocket. “It’s been on my mind for years,” she told her friend, “ever since the flood. I saw what the people of our city did for one another with no guidance. They just saw a need on their street or in their neighborhood and started ripping out carpet and drywall and digging through the mud. Then they did the same thing after the tornado hit and the ice storms and all. I mean, they’re incredible, and they do it again and again. I just want to honor them in some way.”

  “You won’t get any argument from me,” Anna said. “Any word on protesters tonight? I know you said it was a possibility.”

  “Yeah, we got a heads-up this afternoon that there will be some protesting the prisoner release.”

  “Gray really thought that was what was best, huh?”

  Mackenzie grabbed the handle of her bedroom door and stopped, the oil-rubbed bronze cool against her palm. “The other options were worse, except for completely shutting down the government. There are days I think that would suit all of us best.”

  Anna echoed her agreement. “Well, enjoy yourself tonight. And be sure to get me Rascal Flatts’s autographs.”

  Mackenzie chuckled. “Oh, the benefits of being a governor’s wife.”

  Maddie and Gray were stretched out across the bed when she entered the room, Lola and Sophie between them.

  “Hey, are we solving the problems of the world?”

  Maddie shook her head. “Nope, just trying to tell Daddy how nice he’ll look in his tuxes.”

  Mackenzie walked over to the bed and sat, the brown silk quilted Ann Gish coverlet crinkling under her. She ran a hand through her daughter’s fine locks. “I’m so glad you told him that. I think he looks fabulous in a tux too.”

  Maddie turned her face toward her mother. “He said he’s cottin it.”

  Gray nodded as if th
at was exactly what he said.

  “Boycotting?” Mackenzie asked.

  “Yep, he’s doing that to it, Mommy.”

  “Well, if he’s boycotting his tux, then I guess that means I’ll have to find some other handsome man to go as my date.”

  “You could take Jeremiah!” Maddie reared up suddenly, forcing Mackenzie to move her hand. “He told me ’bout one time when he took Miz Shirley to a really nice dinner, and he said he wore a tuxes. I think it might have been when he gave her a posal.”

  Mackenzie smiled. “When he proposed?”

  She nodded.

  “Jeremiah’s a definite possibility.” Mackenzie caught Gray’s eye and winked. “He’s pretty handsome, after all.”

  Maddie raised her right eyebrow and the right side of her lip with it. “Well, he’s kind of handsome, but he’s old like Gigi.”

  Gray laughed and pushed himself off the bed. “First, you’d better never tell Gigi she’s old, or she’ll make you go outside and pull your own switch from her willow tree. And second, there isn’t another man in this town who’s going out with my wife tonight when she’s wearing that green dress of hers.” He stuck his chest out. “I’m the only specimen she can handle anyway. So I will force myself to wear my tuxes and make sure no other man gets my wife’s attention.”

  Maddie snickered. “Daddy’s jealous, Mommy.”

  Mackenzie touched her forehead to Maddie’s. “I think we got him, didn’t we?”

  “Yep.” Maddie grinned. “We got him.”

  Mackenzie stood too and headed for her closet. She heard the thump of Maddie’s feet as they hit the floor and then the pounding as they barreled into the closet behind her.

  “Let me watch you get fancy, Mommy. I want to see your dress.”

  Together Mackenzie and Maddie picked out everything for that evening—dress, lingerie, jewelry, shoes. And when every item was in place on Mackenzie’s delicate frame, they did a spin around the closet and a final study in the mirror. Maddie slipped a tiny hand inside hers. “You look beautiful, Mommy. Just beautiful.”

  “Well, you helped me. I wouldn’t look like this without you.”

  Gray walked into the room, and Mackenzie couldn’t help but let out a slight gasp. He looked so handsome. He studied her with his eyes too—something that used to make her uncomfortable when they were newly married. Now, she loved knowing that her man was taking her in, every inch of her. It was a that’s-my-girl kind of look—one that made her feel known and appreciated.

  He kissed her softly on the head. “You’ll blow them away, babe.” Then he knelt in front of Maddie. “You helped make Mommy this beautiful tonight, Maddie lady?”

  “Yep. Sure did.”

  “Then you did a fantastic job,” he said, hugging her close. Then he stood. “And now it’s time for me to escort your beautiful mommy to this fancy shindig.”

  They walked out into the bedroom just as Eugenia knocked on the door. “Well, have mercy, Hannah,” she exclaimed when they opened it. “Don’t you two look like a stunning pair this evening.”

  “They look handsome, don’t they, Gigi?”

  Eugenia gave her gaze to Maddie. “They sure do, Madeline. Now, are you ready to go hang out with Gigi for the evening? We’ve got us some trouble to stir up.”

  “Mother,” Mackenzie warned, “be good.”

  “What do you mean, good?” Eugenia huffed. “We are going to the playroom, and Oliver is coming over to join us in a game of bridge against me and Burt.”

  “Bridge?” Gray questioned.

  “We can whoop her, Daddy!”

  “You’ve taught my child how to play bridge?”

  She shrugged. “It could be worse. I could have taught her how to play poker.”

  “Burt’s coming?” Mackenzie inquired.

  Eugenia puffed her chest and lifted her chin. “You want me to force Oliver and Madeline to spend the evening with Sandra or Berlyn?”

  “We thank you for that.” Gray walked over to the bed and lifted Sophie and Lola from it. “And y’all get to watch these characters tonight too.”

  Eugenia eyed the two things hanging from his hands as if they were aliens. “Doll babies I do.” She snatched Lola from his hand. “Dogs I don’t. I told you this when you asked me earlier.”

  Maddie reached up and took Sophie from her daddy’s hands. “This is Sophie,” she said, sticking the ball of fur in Eugenia’s face. Her grandmother jerked back about the same time Sophie did. Mackenzie thought she might have heard the puppy growl.

  “Does it poop?” Eugenia asked.

  Maddie laughed. “All dogs go poop, Gigi. Means they’re healthy, Mommy says. That’s what she tells me when I poop.”

  “Well, I don’t do dog poop.”

  “I’ll clean it up if it goes poop.”

  This uplifting conversation was interrupted by the ringing of their bedroom phone. Gray left them to answer it.

  “Mother, thank you for watching Maddie. And for watching Sophie.” She held up a hand before Eugenia could speak. “Yes, your protest was noted, but we don’t really have a choice. So, well . . . just be good.”

  Eugenia looked at Maddie and gave her a sly smile. Maddie giggled. “We will be so good. By the way, did you know Berlyn’s boy finally got married?”

  “Walter? Really? He’s fifty years old, isn’t he?”

  “Yep.” She laughed. “I told Sandra there was hope for her yet.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “According to Berlyn, one very bad day. She can’t stand his new wife. Says she dated the girl’s third cousin once, and that should only happen in Kentucky.”

  Mackenzie shook her head. “Shoo, Mother.” She pushed the two of them out of the bedroom and down the hall.

  “Don’t put that dog near me, Madeline.”

  Maddie giggled at her grandmother as she skipped toward her playroom.

  Mackenzie walked through the bedroom. Gray was still on the phone, obviously talking to someone from the nursing home. She ached for her husband. His father had been as captivating as he was just a few years ago, but Alzheimer’s had taken its toll. Hardly any pieces of the man remained. Gray had one older brother who lived in Knoxville, but they hardly ever heard from him—another situation that broke her heart.

  Gray hung up the phone and joined her.

  “You okay, babe?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I’m okay. They had to sedate him tonight. Said he was screaming and talking about the war one minute and crying over Mom the next.”

  “Is he sleeping now?”

  “They said he’s settled.” He let out a heavy sigh and held out his arm. “Now, let’s go pretend we own the place.”

  Chapter 13

  The door opened as the unknown heroes and the self-declared heroes of Tennessee made their way toward the governor’s mansion. Average folks who had simply desired to help their neighbors lined up with senators and representatives to shake hands with the governor and his wife. Behind them, shouts and chanting marred the summer evening.

  “Sounds like a pretty large crowd of protesters,” Mackenzie said to Gray as they took their places by the stairs.

  “Yeah, we expected this. The media has been talking about it all week. If there hadn’t been so much coverage, I doubt there would be as many out there.”

  “Do you know how many are there?” She pressed her lips together as she waited for the first person to enter.

  “About a hundred, I think.”

  “Security pretty tight?” Her anxiety was evident. There had been only a few protests since they moved into the mansion.

  “Sure, babe. It’s just people sharing their frustration. I’d go picket with them if I could. In fact, if any are still out there after dinner, I’ll probably go talk with them.”

  They ended their conversation abruptly when the first guests reached them.

  They were still meeting and greeting thirty minutes later, when Speaker Johnson inserted himself in front of Gray. “You
do hear them out there, don’t you?”

  Gray studied the aging legislator’s sharp facial angles. The man’s voice was sharp too, even though he whispered.

  “Hard to ignore them, wouldn’t you say, Norm?”

  “We’re going to encourage the VRA if you don’t stop this.”

  “We?”

  “Marcus Newman. He’s our new boy.”

  Kurt had been right. Marcus was too pretty to be trusted. “Is that who helped you try to railroad the TEA bill today? How’d that work out for you, Norm? I honestly thought your word was your word when you gave it the other day. I had no idea I needed to be looking for the knife in my back.”

  “Not all teachers were happy.”

  “Nor were all the unions.”

  “Well, releasing prisoners is not going to solve our budget crisis.”

  Gray placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Neither is the six million dollars in pork barrel spending projects you’ve racked up over the last twenty years. So I think what we’re doing here is partially having to make up for your lack of self-control and long-term foresight. Will you share that with the Victims’ Rights Association too?”

  The representative shook off Gray’s hand. “You need me on your side, Governor.”

  “I want you on my side, Norm. But I won’t let you blackmail me to get you there.”

  He could feel Mack bristling and heard her mumble beneath her breath. She couldn’t stand it when someone other than her challenged him. But her breathing softened at the arrival of the next guest. And for the remaining thirty minutes, no other politicians used the receiving line as their opportunity for sparring.

  Gray walked into the closet and removed his bow tie. Mack sat on her ottoman, dress still on, legs stretched out in front of her. Her palms rested behind her, and a beautiful smile was on her face. Leaning beside her was a surprise gift he had presented her at the banquet, a black-and-white matted photo of a mud-encrusted Mack working in one of the worst-hit neighborhoods after the flood. The mat had been signed by all the residents of the neighborhood.

  “You look relaxed.” He slid his bow tie across the gold tie hanger on the wall.